According to a Bloomberg report, Etsy is gearing up for an IPO, which could hit the markets sometime during the current quarter. The company, which operates a site that allows people to sell their crafts, has retained Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) to lead the deal. However, an S-1 has yet to be filed.
Source: Wikipedia

So, will an Etsy IPO be good for investors?

Well, let’s first get a little background on the company: Back in the summer of 2005, Rob Kalin looked across the web for a good online marketplace to sell his handmade wooden computers. The search was fruitless as nothing impressed him. So he started his own site and teamed up with some of his friends. After working tirelessly for a couple months from Rob’s Brooklyn apartment, they launched Etsy. Read

Box, which operates a cloud storage platform, is close to pulling off its IPO. The company expects to issue 12.5 million shares at a range of $11 to $13, which would put the valuation at about $1.6 billion. The deal is likely to hit the markets within the next couple weeks and will list on the NYSE under the ticker of “BOX.”

While the timing is pretty good for a Box IPO, investors should still remain cautious.

First, let’s take a look at the history of Box: While at USC in 2004, Aaron Levie got the idea for the company while doing a school project, which evaluated cloud storage solutions. He soon realized that the market was wide open. So he dropped out of school and wasted no time in getting Box launched. Read

If this turns out to be the case, it will be impressive. Keep in mind that last year saw the most activity for IPOs since the boom of 2000. So yes, Wall Street certainly appears to be particularly bullish.

Shares in El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. (LOCO) have offered a crazy — and lately miserable — ride since going public last summer, but some some Wall Street upgrades offer hope for upside, even as LOCO stock remains as risky as ever.

El Pollo Loco recently fell below its July initial public offering closing price of $24 a share, something that was unthinkable just a couple of months ago. But, hey, in hindsight, LOCO stock blasted off with such force after its IPO, it was begging for some kind of fall.

Snapchat, which is a popular messaging app (the photos disappear within seconds of receipt), has raised $485.6 million from 23 investors (the names were not disclosed). The deal comes among a flurry of other large financings at the end of 2014, such as for Uberand Xiaomi.

But in the case of Snapchat, might the next step be an IPO or a buyout? Actually, both look like fairly good options for the new year.

First, let’s take a look at a Snapchat IPO. It’s true that – since the tech bubble burst in 2000 — the market for public offerings has changed significantly. For the most part, a company needs a solid record of growing revenues, usually more than $100 million. Read

Last week, I wrote a post for the IPO Playbook about my predictions for next year’s upcoming IPOs. One of my picks was Shake Shack, and before we even hit 2015, we’ve already got an IPO filing.

All in all, The Shake Shack IPO should be one of 2015’s hot deals.

First let’s take a look at the company’s background: Shake Shack is the brainchild of renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer (some of his creations include Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, The Modern, Maialino and Marta). Read

Based in Silicon Valley, Tom Taulli is in the heart of IPO land. On a regular basis, he talks with many of the top tech CEOs and founders trying to find the next hot deals and finding out which start-ups are stinkers.

A long-time follower of the IPO scene, back in 1999 Tom started one of the first sites in the space called WebIPO. It was a place where investors got research as well as access to deals for the dot-com boom. Tom also wrote the top-selling book, Investing in IPOs. In it, he covers all the aspects of analyzing an IPO, such as reading the prospectus, detecting the risk factors and understanding some of the arcane regulations. But don’t worry — if that process is too intimidating for you, thankfully Tom will do the legwork for you right here in the IPO Playbook blog.

Tom is routinely quoted in the media about upcoming deals with his interviews on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, but he is eager to take your questions too. You can message him on Twitter at @ttaulli. And feel free to weigh in via the comments section on any of his IPO Playbook posts.